We have been working with Rays of Hope on developing a Camphill Masterplan to grow into a Centre of Ecological Excellence. This has already been of huge assistance in helping us focus our energy and direction. For a detailed outline of the whole development plan from Rays of Hope, see below. In the short term we have managed to find funding for a new borehole, as well as the pipeline to our water tower, which will help to unlock the water required to set much of this into motion.

Looking forwards, we have broken the large master plan into about 100 bite-sized projects, which will really help us take strides forward in our quest for sustainability, and are looking into various ways of finding funding for these, including crowd funding.

The priority projects (each of which has been broken down into mini-projects) that we have now set are:
1. Establish 14 x 1H camps of lucerne and kikuyu under irrigation for our dairy cows
2. Creating a lake out of our old clay pit, so that the market and music festival area will be on the banks of the lake. We also intend to stock it with fish and develop a campsite alongside it
3. Upgrade our cool room and invest in packaging equipment for the garden produce
4. Create a firewood enterprise out of our alien clearing programme
5. Upgrade equipment in our enterprises to help streamline their productivity
6. Upgrade the group homes, to make them more comfortable and enjoyable
7. Build an office block - so that all admin staff can work from a central place and not spread out around the village like we are at the moment

If anyone has expertise in any of this fields, or would like to contribute to any of, or part of these projects, please contact Janine on fundraiser@camphill.org.za

Read on for more details from Rays of Hope:



Masterplan for the development of Camphill Ecological Center of Excellence (CECE)
by Dr Kris Drabik and Dr Katrin Emmrich of Rays of Hope

Introduction
Rays of Hope (RoH) is a German NPO actively engaged in socio-ecological projects in South Africa since 2002. We recognize that Camphill Village West Coast (CVWC) is thoroughly managed, well qualified and experienced in social development, training and different farming and cottage industry practices and that secure administration systems are in place. We therefore fully support CVWC in its quest for securing a self-sustained future and towards this objective has implemented projects such as the 60 kWp PV solar plant or the two farming tunnels.

RoH and CVWC have closely cooperated since 2012 and jointly form the drivers of a dedicated program, which - in the mid-term with a time horizon of 5 to 8 years - targets to make CVWC the Camphill Ecological Center of Excellence (CECE) based on socio-ecological principals and performance by enhancing and distilling the expertise gained over the past 50 years. CVWC will serve as a living model for low carbon footprint operation as well as for food security and sustainable land use. CECE will be based on technological development but also harness knowhow collected in the region in the past aligning itself with the objectives of the agricultural sector as set out in the Framework for the Development of the Western Cape.

Our jointly developed Masterplan is a "living document" providing the framework for a structured and coordinated approach for planning, design, implementation and operation of projects at CVWC and targeting
- to allow a coherent and structured implementation sequence along defined priorities and with the most efficient use of funds combining - where feasible - work items or avoiding their duplication (such as could be the case in multiple mobilizations for civil works)
- to allow the preparation of specific Project Briefs containing conceptual designs, cost estimates and time tables for the proposed undertakings
- to provide donors with options and detailed information for their potential involvements in any of the proposed infrastructure development projects

Our Masterplan is compiled with the active participation of the residents, the management, staff and enterprises of Camphill thus safeguarding that their needs and expectations are fully understood. Subsequently, suitable projects are defined, prioritized and - once implemented - they will eventually lead to the elimination of CVWC's dependence on external donations. The experience gained will be shared within the region, the nation and beyond. The main building blocks of our Masterplan are summarized as follows:




The successful execution of the Masterplan objectives can be expected due to the presence of
- Physical resource: Land, Infrastructure, Water, Energy
- Work force: Residents, Staff, Volunteers
- Know how: Technical & Managerial expert support (local as well as international)
- Financing: Own cash flow, Donations in cash and kind

This introductory presentation will be followed by more detailed descriptions of the specific topics and activities.

CECE depends on external (private or corporate) support in the funding of each of the identified projects and welcomes any donor assistance towards their realization.